Madonna delle Lacrime

The Basilica of the Madonna delle Lacrime , also called Madonnina delle Lacrime is a 20th-century Roman Catholic Marian shrine church in Siracusa in Sicily, Italy. The modern building, derided by some as an inverted ice-cream cone, dominates the skyline of the approach to Ortigia.

An international competition was held to design the church, and the design by Michel Andrault and Pierre Parat was selected. The main engineer for construction was Riccardo Morandi. Construction of the shrine began in 1966, but was only complete by 1994. During construction, the foundations were found to contain a crypt, likely a paleo-christian mausoleum, now in the inferior rooms of the church. The building initially was planned to be larger, but at 103 meters high, it was truncated some 30 meters. The church is adjacent to the Catacombs of San Giovanni and the Basilica of San Marziano.

Author: Wikipedia